CHAPTER 1
Terrific idea, terrible execution
Nevaeh
What do you do when the real nightmare begins after you wake up?
When I force myself to sit, the quiet dungeon echoes with the sounds of chains tied to my limbs. The ice-cold cement on my back makes me wince as the memories of last night’s whipping flash before my eyes. The hideous overall I’m wearing is still damp with blood and the chill doesn’t help the tips of my fingers to unfreeze.
My healing powers have worsened in the last few weeks, judging by the number of open scars littered around my numb body. Clearly, myDivineis on vacation, leaving me to suffer in its absence.
Divine: A raw power source capable of creating and destroying worlds formed by the combined powers of The Almighty God and All-knowing Fates.
The blood, ache, and stink of burnt flesh is nothing new to me. This is just another morning atmi casa torture,except the absence of my cellmate is enough to pull me out of my daze abruptly.
Where is he? Where is my little boy?
There hasn’t been a single day in the past couple of months that I didn’t wake up to the toddler snuggled against my stomach like my touch was the one thing that could get him to fall asleep.
A whimper filled with terror sounds from afar, and my heart stops at the familiar cry. Without thinking, my neck snaps in that direction only for the iron collar bound to my hair to pull at my scalp harshly. For a second, my vision blurs from the sharp pain before the dread creeps in.
They took him.
Bile claws at my throat at another whimper, followed by mumbled voices. No, they can’t take him. They haven’t touched the boy inmonths. We had a deal.
Fear grips me entirely when another scream rattles my insides. I’m still disoriented from my blackout, but the terrified cry from the poor kid makes me push aside the bone-crushing pain so I can find a way to reach him. Breathing rapidly through my nose, I try to stop my hands from shaking.
I’m wasting time just sitting here. I need to find the kid before they taint him. I can’t let them break him like they broke me.
The thought of him in the hands of these monsters burns my insides. They shouldn’t have done that. Taking my boy is a mistake I’ll make them pay for. I’ve taken my share of punishments,andthat boy’s so they will leave him be.
Dragging my battered body to the far corner of this disgusting dungeon, I balance on scraped knees and start digging. The broken cement is harsh against my fingers, but I invite the pain because it helps me push past my dizziness.
I’ve planned this out for weeks, observing days with the least Deviants on shift. I was preparing to get him out of here, but not like this. Not when I barely remember the day or which warlock is in charge of security today.
I hear the kid’s muffled sobbing a few cells away. Getting to him is all that matters now. He is worth every broken bone in my body. I can’t let him suffer this nightmare any longer.
A cold metal digs into my palm, and I swallow my pained gasp before pulling the dagger from the ground. Ignoring the sting, I crawl back to where my chains were hammered in.
I have a weapon. It’s rusted and won’t do much, but I need it to at least gut a couple of guards for me. With trembling hands, I cut my hair free from the chain and try not to butcher the task too much.
With my neck free, I rotate it a few times to work on the stiffness. Now, to the hard part. Blinking rapidly to clear my vision, I search the chains to find the weakest spot and, with a quiet grunt, pull them apart with all my strength.
It takes three hard tugs and scraped palms to free my arms and two more for my ankles. I wish I had time to revel in being free of these damn chains for the first time in a decade, but time is not on my side today.
At least I have a weapon on me. A weapon, I risked my life stowing away after they threw that little boy in my cell because I knew I would have to put it all on the line for him one day.
Fucking witches. I hate them, hate this entire fucking coven from the depths of my heart. The crescent moon is the strongest and most disgusting coven among the supernaturals and I can’t wait to burn it all to the ground. The overwhelming need for revenge chokes me, but I push it down until I get the kid to safety. His life triumphs my thirst for blood.
The deviant guards on shift are so focused on traumatizing my little boy that they won’t see me coming until I’m right behind them.
Deviants: undead human puppets with no brains.
Witches created Deviants to do their dirty work and be fiercely loyal to their creator. They follow the queen’s commands like loyal puppies with no remorse.
The crescent moon coven likes hunting helpless humans on their deathbeds by offering them immortality for the small priceof eternal loyalty. The humans stupidly sign up for immortality without reading the fine print and end up getting conned when the witches turn them into brainless puppets with no free will, immortality or soul.
Trusting the witches?Who the fuck came up with that idea?
